Aliens Exist
by orange-sunshiine
Summary: Jack Sparrow, Ichabod Crane and a few OCs fight to survive during a zombie-alien apocalypse in the year 2021. There's a little mpreg thrown in, too. Rated to be safe.
1. Chapter One

**A/N: This is kind of a combo of The Mist meets Dawn of the Dead meets War of the Worlds with some time travel and mpreg thrown in. It's odd. **_**Kind reviews are always nice.**_

**Also, appearance wise, Eric = Rob Mcelhenney (Mac from It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia), before he gained a ton of weight, Lana = Mary Elizabeth Ellis (The Waitress from It's Always Sunny), and Sully = Sully Erna. At least, that's what I envisioned while writing this.**

**Thank you to Phish Tacko for beta'ing this.**

**Part 1 - The Store**

Is there ANYTHING else that we could possibly need?" Eric asked as he placed a loaf of Wonder Bread into the cart.

"Hmm… Apples, some milk, and that should be it," His girlfriend, Lana, replied.

"Right. Okay," Eric agreed.

The two pushed through the relatively large crowd that had gathered in the supermarket that day. Eric briefly wondered why it was that so many people were here. Then again, it was a Sunday. A lot of people probably came to get their shopping done while they had some time.

As they walked to the produce section of the store, two men ran past them. One was dressed in a pirate outfit and the other was wearing an old fashioned looking black suit. The one in black seemed to be following the pirate, and both men bumped into Eric and Lana.

"That was weird," Lana said, watching as the two men walked into the same section of the store that they were going towards. "What's with the pirate getup?"

Eric shrugged. "It's Queens. Weirdos love it here."

As Eric and Lana went to pick out their apples, they noticed that the pirate was standing near them, eyeing everything around him. This caught Eric's attention. Most people didn't stare at fruit the same way this guy was. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the pirate grab an orange and slip it into one of the bags he was carrying with him.

Eric wasn't really going to say anything. The guy looked like he was possibly homeless, and Eric figured he might be crazy, so it was entirely possible that the guy was just hungry. Still, he had a rather large stomach, so maybe simply "crazy" just fit the bill.

As Eric turned away to help his girlfriend, the man in black made an appearance nearby.

"STOP!" He yelled, grabbing the pirate by the arm. "I saw you stealing."

The pirate rolled his eyes. "C'mon, mate. Let it go."

"I'd let it go if you were a child or one of the people that live on the streets, but you're quite obviously well fed," He said, poking the other man in the stomach. "Therefore you should not be stealing."

The pirate's eyes widened and Eric wondered if he might cry. He seemed like he didn't know what to say.

The man in black did the thinking for him, though. "Put it back or I'll get the store manager."

The sad looking pirate mumbled something under his breath, but reached into his bag and put the orange back.

"What was that?" The other man asked.

"I said, it's not for me. It's for the baby," The pirate said a little louder.

Well, that made sense, then. The guy wasn't fat. He was pregnant.

Eric decided to step up. He placed a hand on Lana's arm to reassure her, before speaking.

"It's okay, man. Just take it." He looked at the man in black. "I'll buy it for you. Get some other food if you want, too."

The pirate's mouth dropped open.

"…What's the catch?" He finally asked.

"No catch. Just doing a good deed."

"I can't believe you're going to buy food for a thief," The other man said, arms crossed.

Eric took a deep breath, and got about six inches away from the man, looking down on him. Eric was very tall and muscular, while this man was short and skinny. He tried not to laugh as the man cringed, probably afraid of him.

"What's your name?" Eric asked.

"Ichabod Crane. CONSTABLE Ichabod Crane."

"Well, Constable Ichabod Crane," Eric said, in a mocking tone. "You're an uptight asshole."

"I-I…" Ichabod stammered. He was afraid this guy was going to kick the shit out of him. "I was trying to do the right thing and ensure that this man obeys the law. He was clearly breaking it."

"And he's clearly pregnant and hungry, so maybe giving him some food would've been  
the kind thing to do."

Lana could see that her boyfriend was getting a bit worked up, so she took his hand, leading him away so that he'd back off. "Just pay for the crazy guy's food so we can leave, alright?"

"Yeah, fine." Eric turned to see the pirate grabbing several pieces of fruit, totally oblivious to what had just gone on.

"Just come up to the counter with us and we'll pay for it," Lana told him.

"Thank you," The man replied, following them.

There was a long line. It felt like hours before they'd gotten to the front. It was when they finally did that there was a loud crash. The cashier dropped the bag of pasta that she was scanning and turned to face the window. Most of the people in the store did the same.

A police car had hit the side of the building near the large windows and the glass was beginning to crack.

"Oh, crap," Eric muttered. "I have to go help."

"I called 911!" Someone yelled.

"Wait for the medics!" The cashier warned.

Eric didn't pay much attention to them though. He and another male customer both ran outside, intending to help the occupants of the crashed vehicle.

The customers in the store began gathering around, watching the scene unfold.

"He's an EMT and a fire fighter," Lana explained as people began to mumble that Eric and the other man might get hurt. She noticed that the pirate was standing next to her, staring at the scene, while the constable was in the back of the crowd.

Eric and the other man – a shorter, thinner man with a plaid hat cap and numerous tattoos – began walking around the police car.

"I'm Eric," Eric said, introducing himself quickly.

"Sully."

"Okay. They're still in there. I think they're unconscious," He said. "We have to get them out and be careful."

"Right. Okay. I'm a Trauma Nurse, so…" The man said.

"Good. Let's get the driver out first."

Working together, the two men managed to pry the driver's side door open and pull the first policeman out, gently laying him out on the ground, careful not to move his neck.

"The other one's bleeding," The nurse noted.

"Damn. Okay. Hopefully the paramedics will be here soon to take him out."

Eric had just started to open the passenger side door, when the first cop, who'd been lying on the ground, suddenly sat up. Quietly, he stalked towards the two men.

"Holy shit. Watch out!" Sully yelled, seeing the cop out of the corner of his eye. Something in the policeman's eyes was different. His pupils were dilated and had a reddish tone to them. He looked as if something else was controlling his body.

"What the fuck?" Eric asked as the policeman stumbled towards him.

Back inside, everyone was watching in horror as the policeman slowly began to reach for Eric and Sully.

"I think that's one of those zombie-ETs," Someone said. Everyone turned to face the man. "The ones on the news. "

"I didn't think they'd get here so quickly…" A woman said.

"Hell, I didn't think they were REAL!" Someone else replied.

Thankfully, Eric had heard of this problem as well. It'd been all over lately, word that something had landed in England and that whatever it was had a strange effect on humans. The press had said that there was little chance of it spreading to America, but…

Eric quickly reached down and pulled the gun out of the second cop's holster. He shoved Sully behind him and aimed the gun up at the zombie.

"Back off," He warned. "I'll blow your brains out."

The zombie continued to advance, though, and drew his own gun.

Eric shook his head, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger. The .38 caliber bullet shattered the zombie's head and the body collapsed to the ground, blood pouring out everywhere.

"Holy shit," Sully repeated, shocked. "Holy shit. Do you think the other one…?"

Eric took a deep breath and studied the unmoving person in the car.

"No. I don't think he's one of them. They probably responded to a scene with other zombies, and got infected… so there's probably more of them coming."

"We should get inside," Sully suggested.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. We need to start boarding the windows. Make sure everyone's secure. Can you help with that?"

"Sure."

The two men walked back into the store, into the crowd of onlookers.

"Bad news, guys," Eric said. "Looks like we're going to be here a while."


	2. Chapter Two

**Part 2**

It took three hours and the help of five other men to help board up the windows. The cracking glass made it all the more difficult. Now, the customers who'd decided to stay were all over the store, talking and resting.

Eric, Lana, and Sully all sat together in the cereal aisle, talking. It wasn't too long before someone interrupted their conversation.

"Hello."

It was the pirate from before.

"Hey. Um, I'm sure you can just take whatever you want now. I don't think anyone's going to bother you."

The pirate nodded. "I figured. Took some candy," He said, holding up his bag. "But I was wondering if I could sit near you all. Don't really have anywhere else to go and everyone else is giving me strange looks."

Lana shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

Jack smiled at her and took a seat on the ground near Sully.

"What's your name?" Lana asked.

"Jack."

"I'm Lana. That's my boyfriend, Eric, and that's Sully."

Jack nodded. "It's a pleasure and all that. Thanks for standing up for me, earlier," He said, looking at Eric. "I've noticed not many people in this time are like you."

Everyone was confused.

"What do you mean?" Sully finally asked.

"Back in my time, people had a little bit more respect, is all. Everyone here keeps pointing and staring."

"It's the pirate getup, man," Sully said. "You should choose a different outfit."

"What?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow. "The man just said he comes from a different time period. What are you talking about, Jack?"

"Well… I don't know, really. You see, a few days ago, I was on my ship, and this light came out of the sky, and before I could run, it hit me. I don't remember much after that, except waking up on one of the streets here."

"What year did you come from?"

"Year of our Lord 1712. Or maybe 1713. Sorta lose track when you're not on land."

"Wow. Whatever you're on, it's gotta be great," Sully said, smirking.

Jack just frowned. He'd gotten that reply the few times he'd tried to explain his situation to others.

"I don't think he's lying. It makes sense, in a way," Lana said. "If those extraterrestrials can turn people into the walking dead, I'm not surprised that they could travel time. I wonder why they bought you here."

"I think it was a mistake, really," Jack answered. "I don't think they meant it. They've left me alone since then. If they wanted something of me, they'd have taken it already."

"Good point. Maybe they miscalculated something."

Jack nodded in agreement, then yawned.

"Sorry. I'm so tired lately," He explained, yawning again.

"Being pregnant will do that," Lana said. "How far along are you?"

"Seven months and two weeks, to the day." Jack began taking his coat off and rolled it up. He curled up on his side, resting his head on it.

"I didn't think they had mpregs back then," Sully said. "We're always told that it's a new thing. Since around 2018."

"Is that the year it is?"

"No. It's 2021."

Jack nodded and yawned a third time.

"There's some blankets over in aisle three, I think," Lana said, standing up. "Let me go get you one."

"You don't have to," Jack protested. "I've been living outside for days. Sleeping like this won't kill me."

"Almost eight months pregnant and homeless. Great," Lana said sarcastically. "I'm getting you a blanket."

"Alright."

The woman returned a moment later, holding two blankets and a shirt.

"You can put the shirt under your head as a pillow and use the blankets," She said, handing them to Jack.

"Thank you," He said sincerely. "I appreciate it."

"Sure."

Wrapped up in blankets and finally a little bit comfortable, Jack nodded off a few moments later. Lana, Eric and Sully talked quietly amongst themselves as he slept.

"So we're just going to stay here?" Lana whispered. "Eventually we'll run out of supplies."

Eric sighed. "I yanked that officer's Berretta and it's got a few shots left, and I know the manager's got a .45 in the back. I saw it earlier when we went back for sandbags. That could help fend them off if they come. At least, maybe we could be safe for a few days."

"It gives us time to think about things a bit," Sully commented. "Formulate a plan, all that."

"I don't think we should stay," Lana said. "I think we should make a break for it. Maybe  
tomorrow night."

"I'm going with you if you leave," Sully said. "No way am I staying here alone."

"That's fine. I've got three quarters of a tank of gas in the Charger. That'll get us maybe 200 miles."

"We should take Jack too," Eric said. "If we go. We can't leave him here to fend for himself."

"He'll slow us down," Sully noted. "He won't be able to defend himself."

"I'll defend him, then. He seems nice. And I can't rightfully leave a pregnant person to be infected by zombie aliens."

There was a silence for a moment, before Eric spoke again. "There's also gasoline in the back. It's for the generators. But there's more than enough, we could take a gas can and keep it in the trunk. Could get us a couple hundred more miles into the countryside."

"Is that where we're going?" Sully asked.

"Yes. I think that's best, at least. I doubt they've spread that far and if we get somewhere remote enough, they won't find us."

"Hmm." Sully seemed to think about this. "Well, I can't think of any better plan."

"Let's sleep on it for tonight," Eric suggested. "We're all tired. We can plan it in the morning."

"Okay."

"Yeah."

Lana and Sully eventually drifted off to sleep, while Eric stayed awake, trying to think of what was best to do.


	3. Chapter Three

**Part 3**

Eric fell asleep in the early morning hours. He was woken up after only three hours sleep, but Lana rubbing him on the shoulder.

"Hey," She said softly. "They're listening to the radio in the back of the store."

"Oh. Okay." Eric sat up. He saw that Sully and Jack were also awake, stretching out.

The group stood up and walked towards the back of the store, where a decent-sized crowd was gathered.

"…The invasion appears to have spread to the United States, with casualties mounting in the New York/New Jersey tri-state area. We advise all residents to…" There was some static. "… and do not open the doors or windows. There is no known cure for…" More static. "…those infected will be quarantined…"

The crowd began to mumble and shift, everyone talking amongst themselves.

"This is it. This is the end of days!" Someone – a blonde, extremely clean cut man, said.

The mumbling got louder, as people began to question whether or not it was actually the end of the world.

"Maybe we should make a sacrifice," Someone suggested. "If we give them blood, they might leave us alone."

"We'd have to make a big sacrifice," Another person replied. "More than one person."

"There will be no sacrifices!" Someone else called. "You need to calm down. We need to keep order and think everything out clearly!" Everyone turned to see Ichabod standing on top of a wooden box.

"He's right," Eric agreed. "We have to think out our actions. We're not going to start throwing people to the aliens."

"He's in denial," The blonde man said. "He's siding with the evil forces. We can't listen to him. Sacrifices must be made."

"You're nuts," Eric replied. "You're nuts if you think that these invaders are here solely for blood. There must be something else they want."

And just like that, the crowd began to riot. Someone pushed Ichabod off of the box he was standing on.

Eric sighed, and walked over to help him up, holding out his hand to the fallen man.

Ichabod frowned, but took Eric's hand, standing up.

"They've all gone crazy," He whispered as the group watched half of the rest of the crowd begin to stare at each other, likely wondering who would be first to go.

"We should sacrifice him," Someone suggested, pointing at Jack. "He's one of the freaks, he won't be missed."

"Hey," Eric said. "Leave him alone."

Jack swallowed nervously and Lana pulled him closer to her. She was fit and strong and  
she would defend him if necessary.

"Back off," She warned the crowd, pulling out a switchblade from her back pocket. "Don't come any closer."

The crowd did begin to back away from her, not knowing what she might do. Eric pushed through the people, pulling Ichabod along with him. Now Eric, Lana, Ichabod, Sully and Jack all stood together.

"Leave us alone, or there will be problems," Eric stated, pulling the gun out of his waistband. He held it up to show everyone. Some of the people in the crowd gasped, while others just sighed or began to wander off, not wanting anything to do with the situation.

"You're right," He whispered to Lana. "We need to leave. Sully, Ichabod, go get us a gas can and fill it. Lana, take Jack to gather some food, water, and blankets."

Lana nodded, and began to lead Jack away.

"Meet up in the store room in 5 minutes."

While Sully began the search for gas, Lana and Jack began to shove as much food into her purse and his bag as they could. Mostly it was fruit, bread, and a few jars of peanut butter and jelly. Knowing that Jack was probably stressed out, and probably would be more stressed in the future as they ran, she grabbed a bag of chocolate for him. Maybe it'd help a little in the future.

"We need water too," Jack said as he loaded some apples into his bag.

"I'll get us a case. Stay near me," She instructed.

Jack nodded and followed Lana closely, not looking at the people who were quite obviously watching him.

The two walked into an aisle that contained beverages, and Lana grabbed a large case of water bottles.

"Do you think you can carry one or two of those gallon jugs over there? We can use all the water we can get," She asked.

"I think so."

Jack grabbed two of the bottles. He wasn't used to picking anything up – since he'd found out he'd been pregnant, people had been generally doing things for him – but he managed to carry them.

"Let's go meet the other guys."

Once again Lana led Jack through the store, meeting the other three men within the scheduled five minute window.

"Did you guys find gasoline?" She asked.

"Sully's filling up a can right now," Eric answered. "The tricky part's going to be getting out to the car. I heard some sounds last night, after you guys went to sleep. I think it was more of those zombies. They couldn't get in, but they were trying."

"I'm a fast runner," Sully said. "I can run and back the car into the loading area."

"I'd prefer to be the one to back it in," Lana said. "It's my car and all. I can run fast."

"Let Lana do it," Eric decided, then turned to his girlfriend. "Back it into the loading area like Sully said. I'll open the garage door then shut it when you get here, then we can load up and go."

"Okay."

"I'm done with the gas," Sully said, capping the gas can.

"Good. Okay, Lana, here's the gun. I'm going to open the door. Ready?"

"Do it."

Eric nodded, and hit the switch that opened the garage door.

Lana took a breath, and made a quick run for it, running as fast as she could. The car was about fifty feet away, in the corner of the lot. It took her less than a minute to reach it. As she opened the car door, she looked to her right, and saw one of the zombies wandering towards her. It walked at a slow pace, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She opened the door, got in, locked it, and quickly put the car in drive, pushed down on the gas, and ran head-on into the zombie, causing it to fly over the hood of the car.

"Did you see that?!" Sully asked, as the group watched in awe.

"Yeah, she's got balls," Eric said, grinning.

A few seconds later, Lana had the car in reverse, and was backing up towards the garage. As she backed up the car, she hit the zombie again. The tires ran over its neck, making its head fly off with a sickening popping sound.

"Good Lord..." Ichabod said, turning pale.

"You okay?" Sully asked.

Ichabod shook his head 'no' and ran over to the nearest corner, throwing up as soon as he got there.

While Ichabod was being sick, Lana backed the car in, and Eric closed the garage door.

"Sully, help me out?" He asked, taking some of the bags of food.

Sully nodded and grabbed the gas can he'd filled while Lana popped the trunk open.

Together, Eric and Sully loaded up the trunk with all the food and water they'd grabbed, then threw a few blankets in the back seat, all while Jack watched quietly.

"I think we're good," Eric announced once everything was put away. He glanced around, looking for Ichabod. He was leaning against the wall, dry heaving.

"Hey, constable," He called out. "We're leaving. You coming?"

"Y-yes," Ichabod replied.

As Ichabod forced himself to walk towards the car, the back door to the storage room opened. The store manager, along with a group of five customers, including the blonde man, walked in.

"Hey, you can't take that food and gas!" The manager yelled as they advanced towards them.

"Get in the car now," Eric said to Sully and Jack. He shoved Jack lightly towards the back door. The pirate waddled as fast as he could to get in.

Seeing the group getting closer, Ichabod began running towards the car. It took all of his energy, but he made it just as Eric jumped in the front.

The crowd was about ten feet away, and it was now obvious that they were armed.

"Fuck. The door's closed," Lana said, hitting the lock button on the car.

"Pull up to the door," Eric directed.

Lana did as she was told, driving up to the garage door.

Ichabod, Jack and Sully all held their breath as Eric rolled down the window, hit the button to open the garage, and the charger sped out. They had very narrowly missed a lynching.

As they sped through the parking lot, Lana could see the crowd begin to follow the car out into the open. Sighing, she gunned it, getting them to the road – and to safety - in only a few seconds.

"So, where to?" She asked, looking around at the desolate street.

"I guess we should head West," Eric said, looking around. "It's open out there."

"West it is," Lana said, turning on to the highway.


	4. Chapter Four

**Kind reviews make me happy. Also, Phish Tacko beta'd this. Go read her stuff, it's awesome.**

**Part 4**

The highways were eerily quiet. They passed maybe four or five cars, but it seemed almost as if the entire tri-state area had abandoned the roads. Lana and Eric had played with the radio for a while, trying to find a station that might tell them what happened, but all that came through was static.

"Maybe... maybe everyone's infected?" Ichabod suggested. Lana could see him in the rearview mirror and he had a nervous look on his face.

"They might be," Lana answered honestly. "I mean, it's usually so crowded here..."

Ichabod just nodded and began to stare out the window.

The group drove in an awkward silence for a while longer until it got closer to early afternoon. By then, Jack was begging Lana to pull over so that he could pee.

"One of the wonderful side effects of being seven months pregnant," He explained.

"If you can wait another mile, we can stop at the overlook. Can you wait?"

Jack frowned, but nodded. If he could handle six hours of driving, he could handle another minute in the car.

The overlook was entirely deserted. It had a beautiful view of a lake, but it was way too quiet. Everyone got out to stretch their legs, while Jack ran to find a bush that he could hide behind.

When the pirate returned, the group began to discuss their plans from thereon out.

"We're on the border of Pennsylvania," Eric explained. "And we have to refill the gas tank. I say we take a break here for a bit, have something to eat, then we can fill up and keep on going west, but aim our efforts at finding a gas station. Even if it's abandoned, we can still pump the gas."

Everyone except Ichabod agreed. Rather, the constable seemed to have another idea.

"Why exactly are we heading West, again?"

"Because it's more rural. Less of a chance for them to find us."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to turn back towards civilization and lock ourselves up somewhere?"

"Like a panic room?"

"Or a jail. Maybe we could hide in the dungeon."

"Dungeon?" Sully asked, "What kinda jail do you work at? Oh, shit, are you one of those guys who works at Guantanamo Bay?"

Ichabod raised an eyebrow. "Guantana-where?"

Lana shook her head. "Come on. I think it's obvious what's going on here."

"It is?" Jack, Eric, and Sully all asked at once.

"Yes. Ichabod, what year are you from?"

Ichabod was silent for a moment, as if considering his words. "1799," He answered. "I've been here for a few days."

"Let me guess, bright white light, randomly woke up on the street?" Jack asked.

"Actually, I woke up in one of the underground train stations."

"Really?" Lana asked. "That's odd."

Ichabod shrugged. "Well, let's just say I'm getting used to odd things happening. First the horseman, now this... Hopefully I'll wake up soon."

"Hate to tell ya, mate, but you're not dreamin'," Jack replied. "I got transported here too, right off my ship and onto the street, back from 1712. Or '13."

Ichabod smiled. "No, that can't be right. This is all obviously some terrible nightmare. I'm probably asleep in New York. Perhaps in a coma. Maybe one of the prisoners hit me over the head."

Eric and Lana looked at each other, before Eric spoke up.

"Jack's right." He reached out and pinched Ichabod's arm. "See? You're really here."

"No, no..." Then the constable looked down at his arm, where Eric had touched him. Without another word, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

00

"For such a tiny guy, he's pretty heavy," Sully said, as he and Eric dragged Ichabod back to the car. They'd taken a break to eat and the dark-haired man still hadn't woken up yet.

"Yeah, I know. Put him in and close the door so he doesn't fall out," Eric instructed.

Sully nodded, and the two men placed Ichabod in the car.

"Is he alright?" Lana asked.

"He just got nervous, I think," Sully said. "I mean, I checked his eyes and his pulse and everything seemed normal. He's probably one of those people who gets scared easily."

"So he'll wake up soon?"

"Likely in the next few hours. But I think we should try to find a place to sleep soon. He's going to need to rest, and so is Jack." Sully glanced over at the pirate, who was currently eating an apple and staring out at the lake below, one hand resting on his stomach. He looked pretty tired.

"Yeah, that's fair. Alright. Jack, we're going," Lana called out.

Jack waddled over, sighing as he got back into the car.

This time Eric drove. It wasn't long before he saw signs for a gas station. By then, Ichabod had just begun to wake up.

"Oh..." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm still here?"

"Yup. Sorry to say," Sully answered. "You're stuck with us."

"Ugh. Why can't anything ever be normal?"

Sully shrugged. "Guess you're meant for special things? I don't know."

Ichabod just frowned, and continued to rub his eyes.

"Sully, come out with me?" Eric asked, pulling up to the gas pumps. "I want someone outside to stand guard with me."

"Okay." The small tattooed man motioned for Jack to get out, as Sully was in the middle. Jack did so, but didn't seem to happy about having to move.

"Problems?" Lana asked, hearing Jack mumble something under his breath.

"No..." He replied.

Lana just stared at him, waiting for him to tell her what was actually wrong.

"Alright, I'm just tired," Jack said. "I want to go to sleep."

"We'll find a place to camp for the night as soon as we're done here."

Jack nodded, then yawned.

Lana turned to look outside, and could see that Eric was almost done filling up the tank. A minute later, he sat back down in the driver's seat.

"Is there anyone there?" Lana asked.

Eric shook his head. "Didn't see anyone. I guess it's free gas, then."

Sully got in the back, forcing Jack to once again move.

"We need to find a place to sleep tonight," Lana reminded him, hearing Jack grumble something again. "Everyone's tired."

"Okay," Eric agreed. "We can do that."

00

There were three choices for sleeping that night. One was to check out the houses in the area and see if any were completely deserted, then crash there if so. The second was to sleep in the car, and the third was to camp outside. As it was a warm night, and the group still didn't know exactly what had happened to everyone else, they decided on the last choice. Thankfully, it wasn't hard to pick a spot. Pennsylvania had a ton of back roads that led into wooded areas, and any clear spot would do.

Once they reached their chosen spot, Eric, Lana, Sully, and Ichabod began unpacking the car. Jack reached into the trunk to pull out the cooler, but Eric stopped him. He didn't want Jack carrying heavy things, not in his condition. This frustrated Jack slightly – he felt that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself – but he was too tired to argue.

Soon enough, the four had set up everything they needed. There were enough blankets to allow everyone to either cover themselves, or to lay over the ground, and they had enough food and water to eat dinner. Lana started a campfire going, to keep everyone warm as the night air cooled around them.

As they ate, the group talked. It seemed a little easier to get along now that they were out in the open air, and the crackling fire also helped to ease some tension by relaxing everyone.

They talked about everything from where Sully was originally from (Boston), to what Ichabod's job entailed, the horseman, and all the paranormal things surrounding Sleepy Hollow. Inevitably, they got to asking Jack about his pregnancy, too.

By now the pirate was about to fall asleep. He was resting his head on Lana's knee, as there were no pillows, and she was allowing it, mainly out of pity.

"So, Jack, is the baby's other parent on your ship?" Sully asked.

The question seemed to catch Jack's attention.

"She... I haven't seen her in months, actually," He answered, sadness apparent in his voice.

"She abandoned you?!" Lana questioned.

"No, not really... I mean, she didn't know about it... the baby, rather, before she left."

There was a silence before Eric spoke up.

"Does she know about the baby at all then?"

Jack suddenly looked like he was about to cry. Sensing that something was wrong, Lana quickly rested a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him.

"It's okay," She said. "You don't have to answer that."

Jack glanced up at her and nodded quietly. There was another silence. Lana could feel Jack starting to curl up, probably trying to stay warm. The blanket he had over him was fairly thin, and even with the fire, the night air was cool. Sighing, Lana removed the gray cardigan she had on and placed it over Jack, hoping it might help a little. It must've made him at least a bit more comfortable, because he was asleep within minutes.


	5. Chapter Five

**Part 5**

Ichabod woke up to the sound of someone being sick. Not sure who it was, he cracked his eyes open, looking around the camp. Sully and Eric were asleep near the fire, which had gone out hours prior, and Lana was curled up on a blanket. The only one missing was Jack.

Hearing the sound of retching again, Ichabod sighed, and pushed himself to stand up. He followed the sound until he found Jack, throwing up into a bush.

"Are you alright?" Ichabod asked. He didn't particularly like Jack, but he felt bad if the man was sick.

Jack didn't answer, instead he began retching again.

Ichabod cringed, then cautiously rested his hand on Jack's back.

"It's... okay," He said awkwardly. "You'll be alright..." Ichabod could remember his mother talking to him like that when he was sick as a child.

Eventually Jack stopped being sick, but he seemed rather weak, as if he could barely stand. Seeing this, Ichabod wrapped an arm around his waist, and led him back to the camp.

"You need to sit down. I'll get you some water."

"Thanks, mate..." Jack replied, sitting down on a log.

Ichabod nodded, took the car keys from where they lay near Eric, and unlocked the trunk. He came back a moment later, bottle of water in hand.

"Here you go."

Jack took the water and drank most of it very quickly. He seemed to feel better after that.

"Sorry about that... Sometimes I still get bad morning sickness," He explained. "Especially if it's been a stressful day. Needless to say, I've been throwing up a lot lately."

Ichabod shook his head. "I didn't realize that. I'm sorry. And..." He took a deep breath. He never much liked apologizing, but it seemed right. If he was going to have to stay with Jack and the group long-term, they might as well make peace. "And I'm sorry for what happened in the store."

Jack smirked. "That's alright. You were just doing your job...I think."

"I get carried away sometimes."

Before Jack could reply, Eric started to stir. He stretched, then sat up. This in turn woke up Sully.

"What's goin' on?" Eric asked, noticing that Ichabod and Jack were near each other.

"Ichy here was just apologizin' to me for the store incident."

"Don't call me that," Ichabod said, scowling.

This made Jack grin. "Aw, but it's a cute name. Ichy."

"Don't make me regret trying to make peace with you."

"Alright, alright. Stop it, both of you. You're grown men," Eric said. "And we have other things to worry about anyway."

"He's right. I say we get something to eat then head out. Maybe we can find a place to shower today."

Eric nodded. "I'll wake Lana."

00

After a quick meal of granola bars and water, the group piled back into the car and continued on the highway. Only a mile into their trip, they passed what looked like roadkill on the side of the road.

"The fuck is that?" Sully asked, noticing the body up ahead.

"A deer maybe?"

"No... Slow down."

Eric slowed the car. As they got closer, it became easier to make out the body. It was that of a man. He was covered in blood and his arm and legs were obviously broken, but he still seemed to be alive.

"Holy shit," Sully gasped. "That thing's still moving! Look! He's dragging himself along!"

"Can we just go?" Lana asked.

Eric nodded and hit the gas, speeding up and getting far away from the zombie.

00

Another day of driving led them to a suburban street, a few miles off the highway. They'd pulled off when the sun had started going down, hoping to find some place to stay.

The streets were deserted, but they expected this. It seemed like the entire population of the East Coast had disappeared.

Eric drove up to the last house on the street. It had no cars in the driveway and the lights were off.

"I suppose we might as well check this place out," Eric said as he turned the car off. "At least they'll have a bathroom."

"Thank God," Jack replied. "I need to go."

"Okay, okay. Let's go in."

The group exited the car, then Sully and Eric began searching the house for a way to get in.

"I think we can get in through the window in the back," Sully said. "It looks open."

"Or we could just open the door," Ichabod called out. He was standing near the back door, having pushed it open.

"Oh..." Eric answered. "I just assumed it was locked."

Ichabod smiled at him. "I know."

From the corner of his eye, Eric could see Jack walking as fast as he could to get inside, probably because he had to pee really badly.

"Jack!" Eric yelled.

The pirate stopped dead in his tracks.

"Don't go in there yet!"

"But I gotta go!" Jack said.

"I need to make sure it's clear." Eric motioned for Sully to come over. "Let's go."

"I'm going too." Ichabod said, following the two men in.

Eric sighed. "Fine."

The three walked into the house, the first room being a kitchen.

"It reeks in here," Sully said, pulling his shirt over his nose. "Ugh."

Soon enough they found the source of the smell: there was food left out all over, rotting away on the counters. Dishes were piled up in the sink, and the garbage can had flies flying around it.

"No one's been here for a while..." Eric said, looking around.

"Uh, I think I know why," Sully said. He was in the other room already. "You need to come see this."

Eric and Ichabod quickly walked into the room Sully was in. It was a neatly kept living room – much cleaner than the kitchen. Nothing was out of place, except for what was on the wall.

Scrawled in blood was the word "HELP".

"That's not good," Ichabod said, suddenly feeling rather queasy.

Eric saw him pale. "Go outside or you're going to faint again, and we don't need that."

"I'm fine," The constable replied. "I'm fine. Let's just keep going."

Eric rolled his eyes, but agreed.

"I think we should check upstairs," Sully suggested. He began to ascend the stairs, Ichabod and Eric following close behind.

Sully stopped halfway up the staircase.

"Did you hear that?"

"No?" Ichabod asked.

"I did," Eric replied. "Shh. Listen again."

Ichabod quieted down, and heard what the two others were talking about. It definitely sounded like something was walking around upstairs.

"Someone's up there," He whispered.

"Someone or some _thing_," Eric said. He pulled his Beretta out of his waistband, and began to walk ahead to get in front of Sully.

Quietly, they continued walking, coming to two doors at the top of the stairway. Eric soon determined that the sound was coming from behind the door on the left.

"I'm gonna open it, and shoot at it if it's one of them," He stated. "So be ready."

Ichabod and Sully nodded in agreement.

In one swift move, Eric threw the door open, expecting a zombie to come at him. It didn't, though.

Confused, he walked into the room.

"Ah, shit," He mumbled. There, in the corner, was a one of the undead, tied to the wall with a collar and a chain. It wore a blue dress, and was missing one of their shoes. Had she been human, Eric surmised that the zombie would've likely been quite pretty. Now, though, it had red eyes, rotting flesh and its hair was falling out in clumps.

Seeing Eric enter, the zombie attempted to come towards him, but was stopped by the chain. It began to hiss, drool blood, and spit towards Eric, probably in frustration.

Sighing, Eric closed his eyes and took a shot at the zombie's head.

The gunshot echoed through the house, and blood splattered everywhere, coating the walls and Eric simultaneously.

Hearing the shot, Ichabod and Sully crept into the room. The zombie lay prostrate on the floor.

"That's..." Ichabod started, staring at the body. He didn't get another word out. His eyes rolled back, and once again he was flat on his back, unconscious.

00

Feeling confident that the house was now clear, Eric and Sully invited Jack and Lana to come in. Jack raced past them all.

"Where's the bathroom?"

"Next to the kitchen," Sully answered.

Jack nodded and began to walk off again.

Meanwhile, Lana began to look around.

"Where's Ichabod?"

"Fainted upstairs... There was a bit of an incident," Eric explained. "I guess he couldn't take it."

"Incident?"

"They had one of the zombies tied up there. Looked like a girl. Eric disposed of her."

"Oh. That was the gunshot, then?"

"Yeah. Speaking of, I guess we should dispose of it?"

"Does it really matter? We could just close the door."

Eric shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter. It was dead days ago anyway..."

"We should probably bring Ichabod downstairs, though. If he wakes up and sees that thing... Even if it's really dead, he might freak out," Sully said.

"Good idea."

Jack came out of the bathroom just as the two men were coming back downstairs, carefully carrying Ichabod down with them. Lana quickly rushed to help.

"He fainted again?" Jack asked.

"Yes. By the way, don't go upstairs," Sully said.

"Alright. Do I want to know why?"

"You really don't."

"Alright."

Jack watched as the three brought Ichabod over to a couch in the living room area, laying him down on it. Sully and Eric then began to check him over, making sure that he was okay.

"Why don't you go take a bath or a shower?" Lana suggested.

"Good idea. It's been- Ohh…!" Jack cried out, holding his stomach.

Everyone's attention immediately turned to the pirate.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked nervously. They definitely didn't need Jack to go into labor right then.

"Fine... The baby just kicked me in the ribs. It does that sometimes."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure." Jack continued to rub his stomach even after the baby kicked. "I think I'm going to go take that shower."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement, then turned their attention back to Ichabod.

00

With Ichabod still unconscious and Jack in the shower, Lana, Eric, and Sully decided to check out the other room upstairs and see if there was anything of use. They opened the second door, leading to a very clean room. It looked like a bedroom.

"There must've been other people here besides the girl," Sully said, looking around. "The other room is a bedroom too."

"There were definitely others... Someone had to tie her up. And look," Lana said, picking up a picture frame, "Here." She held up the photo so everyone could see. It showed three people – an older man and woman, and a beautiful young woman sitting in front of them. Eric recognized the dress that the girl was wearing.

"That's the girl in the other room. She was wearing that same blue dress. Those must be her parents."

"Probably. The man... The father looks around Sully's size. Ichabod could probably wear some of his clothes, too, so if we could find them... I mean, it's not like they'll be using them," Lana said, putting the picture back down.

So, the group began searching the dressers in the room. It didn't take long to find the clothes they were looking for. Sully grabbed a black t-shirt for himself, and another for Ichabod.

"Think he has any jeans?" Sully asked, looking around.

"Probably. Maybe in the closet? Man, it feels weird taking someone else's clothes," Eric answered.

Lana pulled the closet door open. "Um… Well, they definitely won't miss them."

Sully and Eric came closer, and saw what Lana meant. There, in the walk in closet, were the bodies of the father and mother that they'd seen in the photo. A gun lay under the man's body, which was surrounded by a pool of blood.

"They must've killed themselves... Or the husband killed the wife... Or something..." Sully whispered.

Eric sighed, and pushed the man's head so that he could see his face. His skin was pale and there was blood oozing out of both the bullet hole in his head and out of his nose and mouth.

"I think they were infected," Eric said. "Maybe they killed themselves because of that."

"In the closet?"

"Well, they likely were not in a normal state of mind..."

Sully shook his head, "Never mind the jeans. Close the door. I don't want to see that."

Lana quickly shut the closet door.

"I saw a pair of sweat pants in there, and a large shirt that I think might fit Jack," Sully said, turning back to the dresser and pulling out the aforementioned pants. "Here. That way, he doesn't have to go around looking like a pirate."

"Does it matter?" Lana asked.

"He might be more comfortable in it," Sully replied.

"True. Anything else, here?"

"Don't think so."

The three got back downstairs as Jack was getting out of the shower. He was wearing only a bathrobe.

"Found this in the bathroom," He told everyone as they looked him over. "It looked comfortable."

"We actually found some clothes for you," Sully said, handing Jack the sweat pants and t-shirt. "You'll look more... normal."

"Oh, thanks!" Jack replied happily.

Sully raised an eyebrow. "Um, yeah. Go see if they fit."

Jack nodded, and walked back to the bathroom. He came out a minute later, wearing the clothes. They were a bit tight – the shirt was stretched over his stomach – but for the most part, they fit.

"They fit," Jack said, excitedly.

"Great. Why are you so happy?"

"Mood swings? Don't really know. I haven't changed clothes in over a month, so it feels amazing to wear something new."

"Ew," Lana said, wrinkling her nose. "I guess you guys didn't have laundry machines in your time."

"Laundry machine?" Jack asked, confused.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad the clothes fit. We got some for Sully and Ichabod, too. Speaking of..." She turned around, seeing that Ichabod was starting to wake up.

"Glad to see you're back with the living," Lana said, watching as Ichabod glanced around, probably trying to figure out what had happened.

"Did I faint again?"

"Yup," Sully answered. "After Eric shot the zombie."

"Oh... yes. _That_." Ichabod said, groaning a bit. "My head hurts."

"I'll see if there's some aspirin in the medicine cabinet," Lana told him, walking out of the room.

Ichabod flinched as he sat up. Usually, after his little spells, he felt dizzy for a while, and

now was no exception. Seeing the look on his face, Eric spoke up.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm just dizzy. I'm always dizzy after I faint," Ichabod replied, rubbing his forehead. "It's like the room's spinning."

Eric and Sully looked at each other, thinking the same thing.

"We should check him for a concussion," Sully said, voicing the thought.

"I'm fine!" Ichabod protested as the two men got closer. "Just let me be."

"You could really be injured-" Eric started, but Ichabod waved him off.

"I'm fine. I'm always fine. Don't you have anything else to do?"

Lana returned just then, holding a bottle of Tylenol. "Found this in the cabinet." She took two pills out, and gave them to Ichabod, who dry-swallowed them.

"Well, if he doesn't want help, I'm going to go shower," Sully announced, picking up the pile of clothes he'd taken for himself. "I suggest we stay here for the evening."

Sully walked out of the room before anyone could answer, and the group sat there in silence for a few seconds before Jack began to talk.

"So, what's this about shooting a zombie?"


	6. Chapter Six

**Part 6**

That evening, Lana found some food left in the freezer and made use of the kitchen. It was the first hot meal that the group had had in days.

Eric watched as she cooked.

"It's weird, the thought of eating their food," He said.

"It's just as weird cooking it."

"I know they aren't going to eat it... But we took their clothes... I don't know. It's odd."

"I know what you mean."

The two talked for a few minutes, until they were interrupted by Sully.

"Eric, you gotta come out here." He seemed frantic.

"Why?"

"Just come on!"

"Okay, okay." Once again, Eric withdrew the gun from his waistband, ready to fire if necessary. He still had a few shots left.

Sully and Eric walked past the living room, where they could see Ichabod and Jack hiding behind the sofa. Eric couldn't help but smirk at it. At least Ichabod realized that he should probably stay out of the action.

"It's out there," Sully said, pointing to the front door.

Sure enough, right outside the door stood a zombie on the front porch. It was clawing at the door, trying to get in.

"Great," Eric said, "Alright. Well, the door's locked, and it's a female zombie, so... Think we could beat it down?"

"I saw a baseball bat in the living room..."

"Me too. Go get it."

Sully nodded, and ran to get the baseball bat. It was wooden and heavy.

"Thanks. Now on my count, open the door. Ready?"

"Yeah."

"One.. Two.. Go for it!"

Sully swung the door open, and Eric walked in front of him, taking aim with the bat. In one swift move, he swung it down, hitting the zombie right on top of the head. It seemed to stun the creature, and it fell back a bit.

Eric walked forward and continued beating it down until it was lying on the ground, not even bothering to fight back.

"I. WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Eric screamed as he hit the zombie several more times. There was blood and pieces of brain flying everywhere, and the zombie was now obviously dead, but Eric didn't stop. Not until Sully stepped in.

"Eric, man, it's dead."

Eric hit it one more time, then stepped back, breathing heavily.

"Sorry about that."

"A little stressed out, are we?"

"Just a bit, what with the alien zombie apocalypse, time travelers and pregnant man who are traveling with us," Eric said, teeth clenched.

"Calm down, man. Really. It's no use getting worked up."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry."

"It's all right."

"Is it okay?" Both men heard Lana call. She was quickly walking over.

"It's fine," Eric and Sully answered at once.

Lana glanced out the window and saw the body lying on the porch. "I take it you killed the zombie?"

"It's definitely dead," Sully replied.

"Good. Dinner's almost ready. Go get Ichabod and Jack, tell them they can come out now."

"Still behind the couch?" Sully asked, trying not to laugh.

"Still behind the couch," Lana confirmed.

00

After packing some clothes, food, and taking showers, everyone set out the next day. The first thing they noticed as Lana drove them down the street was that there seemed to be more activity than there was the day before. Mainly, there were a lot of zombies walking around.

"How is it that we haven't yet seen or heard the aliens?" Ichabod asked as they passed the sixth zombie of the morning.

"My only guess is that they got here before we did, or that they have some way of disguising themselves. Some type of camouflage," Lana answered.

"I heard on that they can make themselves look like humans, but that they have black eyes. The irises are pure black. That's how you can tell them apart," Sully added.

"Where'd you here that from?" Ichabod questioned.

"Couple people in the store mentioned it."

Ichabod rolled his eyes. "And you believe everything that you hear?"

Seeing that Sully was getting frustrated, Lana intervened. "It'd make sense as to how they get by without being noticed."

Knowing that two people were against him, Ichabod didn't reply. He turned and quietly stared out the window.

They drove for another two hours in silence, until they passed a sign that said 'Welcome to Ohio'.

"Where's Ohio?" Jack asked.

"It's west of Pennsylvania," Eric answered. "We're going in the right direction."

"Great. So... now that we've crossed the border, mind if we stop for a bit?"

"Gotta pee again?" Lana asked jokingly.

"Actually, yes. Very badly."

"We need to get more gas anyway. We'll stop at the next gas station, okay?"

"Okay," Jack agreed. "Hopefully it's not too far."

00

The nearest gas station happened to be only three miles away, luckily for Jack. As soon as Lana parked, he dashed out of the car, Eric following right behind him. He didn't want Jack going anywhere alone, seeing as how he would be unable to defend himself.

The two ran into the tiny store attached to the gas station. To their surprise, there was an attendant behind the counter.

"Finally! Another person!" Eric said, happily. "Hey, man, my name's Eric. You're the first live person we've seen in days!"

The attendant smiled, but said nothing.

"Eric! Come on, I have to go!" Jack yelled.

Eric sighed. "Are there restrooms here? My friend has to pee."

The attendant nodded, and pointed to the left, where there were signs for a men's room and a ladies' room.

"Thanks."

As Jack ran off to the bathroom, Sully, Ichabod, and Lana came inside. Everyone scattered to look around for snacks and coffee, things that they could eat while on the road. Sully was the first to turn up at the register, coffee and chips in hand. Ichabod was right behind him, waiting for Eric or Lana as he didn't have any money of his own.

"Man, it's great to see someone else," Sully said, putting the items he had down on the counter.

The attendant merely turned, pressed a few buttons on the register, then looked back at Sully. For a moment, it seemed like the two were both staring at each other. Sully's eyes were locked on the attendant's face. It was odd.

Ichabod was about to say something to get Sully's attention when the attendant reached out, and took Sully's hand. It was then that Ichabod noticed the attendant's eyes. They were black. Pure, unnatural black, like coal.

"Sully, move!" Ichabod yelled, grabbing Sully's other arm.

It was too late, though. The attendant pressed his fingers into Sully's arm, and a weird glow of bluish light surrounded it. He then opened his mouth, allowed Ichabod to clearly see his teeth. They were pointed, not unlike the horseman's had been. The alien leaned in, and bit Sully's wrist, drawing blood.

Eric showed up just as this occurred. But then, the whole process seemed to be done as soon as it'd started.

"Shit," Eric mumbled, looking at Sully.

The shorter man now had the same darkness in his eyes as the alien.

"Shit."

Sully looked at Eric, and Eric could see his skin becoming more pale, his eyes turning a reddish color now. He was definitely infected.

Without another moment's thought, Eric pulled his gun from his waistband. He pointed

the gun at the attendant, taking the alien out with one shot. The creature didn't have the

time to fight back. Eric then turned the gun on Sully.

"Sorry, man," He said, "I really am."

Then there was another shot. Sully lay dead, the top portion of his head missing, brains and blood splattered all over the floor.

Eric then put the gun back into his waistband. He turned to look at Ichabod.

"You going to faint?"

It looked like all the color had drained from Ichabod's face. Slowly, he shook his head 'no'. Instead of fainting, he simply got down on his knees and began to vomit.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Part 7**

It took a lot of effort to get Ichabod back out to the car. He was shaky, sweating, and panicky, so Lana and Eric had ended up dragging him out of the store with Jack following behind.

Once they were near the car, Lana opened the back door and helped Ichabod sit down.

"Are you okay?" She asked, buckling the seatbelt around him.

Ichabod stared at her, but didn't answer verbally. He did shake his head 'no', though.

"I'm sorry that that happened. Eric had no other choice, though."

Ichabod closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, then reached out to close the door.

Lana sighed, and took a few steps back, then got into the passenger seat.

As soon as Jack and Eric got in, Eric started driving off. There was an awkward silence for a while, only broken up by the sound of Ichabod crying softly by himself in the backseat.

Lana considered trying to talk to him, but decided against it. She'd wait to see if he got any better in the next few hours. At one point, she glanced back to see Jack slowly moving to rest hand on Ichabod's leg, trying to comfort him. Ichabod didn't shake him off.

The group continued driving until sunset, when Eric pulled over in a wooded area.

"I guess we'll be camping again tonight, then?" Jack asked.

"No other options. There's nothing around here for miles… And I doubt we will find anything until we hit Indiana tomorrow. Hopefully there will be some towns on the outer fringes of the state."

Jack nodded in understanding, and lugged himself out of the car. Lana and Eric also got out, but Ichabod remained where he was. He continued to stare out the window.

The three went and found a safe looking place to camp, and started a fire. After fifteen minutes or so had passed and Ichabod still hasn't come out, Lana and Jack made their way back to the car. He was in the same position as he was before, but it was clear that he'd been crying again.

Lana tapped on the window to get Ichabod's attention. He glanced up at her, and slowly opened the door.

"We just wanted to see if you're okay," Lana told him. "And we wanted to know if you'd like to join us. We started a campfire."

"Okay." Ichabod unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He slowly began walking into the woods, leaving Lana and Jack behind.

00

The sun went down within the hour, and though it was still early in the evening, the stars in the sky were becoming clear. Out there, in the middle of nowhere, you could see all of them. Eric added some more wood to the fire, as Lana attempted to cook chicken over it. She'd found it in the freezer at the house they'd stayed at.

"The sky's nice tonight," Jack commented, looking up.

"I bet on your ship you could see the skies really clearly," Eric said. "Must've been beautiful."

"It was. It wasn't all smoky like it is now, here in these cities… it was cleaner. The air was cleaner. No matter where we were you could look up and see 'em all." Jack smiled, remembering the ship and his life at sea, and rested a hand on his stomach.

"If we can get you back… Are you going to stay on the ship when your baby is born?" Lana asked.

"I hadn't really considered it," Jack answered truthfully. "The whole thing is… Well, it was unexpected. I didn't realize it until a few months in. I guess I've not thought that far ahead."

"How did you not know?" Lana looked surprised. "I mean, wasn't it obvious."

Jack shook his head. "It wasn't common. Not like it is now. I've seen a lot of others like me here, but back then, it just didn't happen. I thought I was sick. Maybe caught something in one of the ports we'd stopped at, or gotten cursed by a gypsy, or something like that."

"A gypsy curse?" Lana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, we had gypsies back then."

"It was a different time, people believed different things," Eric added.

Jack nodded in agreement. "It wasn't until I started showing, and even then, I just thought I was getting fat. Then I felt the baby kicking and I was sure."

"Wow. So you must've been pretty far along, then," Lana said.

"About five months. It was a big surprise, let me tell you."

"Wow. I guess you have no idea if it's a boy or a girl?"

Jack shook his head. "I can't be certain, but I think it's a girl. Just a feeling I have."

"I see." Lana started picking up the paper plates she'd bought and began putting chicken on them. She passed around the food so that everyone got some.

"Thank God," Jack said, picking up the food with his hands. He started eating it quickly, not even noticing that it was extremely hot.

"Hungry?" Eric asked jokingly.

"Very. You have no idea how bad it gets sometimes. Seems like all the baby wants to do is eat. And kick me in the ribs."

Jack continued to eat his food, while Lana and Eric slowly cut their own portions up. Across the other side of the fire, Ichabod just placed his plate down, not bothering to even look at it.

"Ichabod, you have to eat," Eric said. "We're going to be driving a lot tomorrow and we might not stop."

"I'm fine," Ichabod replied, looking away. He was too upset to eat.

Eric sighed. "Whatever. Let us know when you decide to snap out of this emo phase."

"Emo?" Ichabod and Jack asked, at the same time.

"Stop being sad," Eric clarified. "What's done is done. You crying over it isn't going to do anything to help."

Ichabod frowned, and Lana noticed that his hands were starting to shake again. He seemed to be putting a lot of effort into not crying or yelling.

Lana shook her head, and stood up, then sat down next to Ichabod. She could see Eric rolling his eyes at her as she wrapped her arms around the constable, pulling him into a hug. At first, he pulled back a bit, but a few seconds later he stopped, and rested his head on her shoulder. It wasn't long after that that he began to cry, unable to hold it back anymore.

Lana just continued to hold onto him, urging him to let it all out.

Eventually, he stopped and she let go of him. Ichabod's eyes were red and it was obvious that he was very tired now. By this point, Eric and Jack had finished eating, and were staring into the fire quietly, trying not to stare at Ichabod.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" Lana suggested to the dark-haired man.

Ichabod nodded, and yawned.

"I'll go get our blankets," She told him, standing up.

She returned a few minutes later, holding several blankets and sheets. Silently, she passed two over to Ichabod. Now that there was one less person, there were more blankets to go around. She didn't mention that, though.

"Thank you," Ichabod whispered, as he laid one of the blankets out. He proceeded to curl up under the other one, trying to keep warm.

Soon after Ichabod fell asleep, Jack did too. Lana gave him the other extra blanket, knowing that it was probably very uncomfortable for him to be sleeping on the ground, especially in his condition.

That left just Eric and Lana awake.

"Let's go talk," Eric suggested, soon as he was sure that neither Jack or Ichabod would be waking up.

"Yes, I think we need to."

00

Eric and Lana walked further into the woods, away from the small camp. Using a flashlight, they followed a path until they felt confident that their conversation would not wake Ichabod or Jack.

"Why are you being so nice to him?" Eric started. "If he's got some kind of issue, he's just going to slow us down. You're playing into it!"

"It's called having compassion, Eric. You'd want someone to be kind to you if you were as traumatized as he is!" Lana spat back. "Come on, I thought you were better than that!"

"Lana, I'm trying to help us survive a ZOMBIE ALIEN APOCALYPSE. We cannot afford to drag him around every time something scary happens and he faints or gets nervous! It's bad enough that we've got Jack with us! He's going to slow us down as it is!"

Lana put her hands on her hips, and Eric knew she was angry. "What happened to the guy who defended Jack because he was hungry in the store?"

"Come on, Lana. It's still me. You have to admit, it's a pain to drag him around."

"So are we supposed to just leave him? Did you see how upset he was? It's not right. I couldn't just let him sit there and panic all evening. Besides, I'd rather die doing right than get by and hurt others."

Eric sighed. "You're serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!" Lana seemed insulted. "And up until a few days ago I thought you felt the same, but apparently not."

Eric took a deep breath, thinking his words over carefully. "I know you're right. It's just... hard."

"I know."

Eric and Lana stared at each other for a moment before Lana's expression softened. "I know it's hard. You've had to do things that you'd have never normally had to do. But it's our job to defend these two people so we have to do it, it's the right thing to do."

"Alright, alright. Fine. Just... Don't hug him as much. It's kinda weird."

Lana rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"We should go back in case they wake up. Hopefully they didn't hear us."

Eric and Lana quietly walked back towards the camp. Both Ichabod and Jack appeared to still be asleep. Seeing this, Lana and Eric began to lay out blankets so that they could sleep.

The couple had just gotten settled when there was an odd sound.

"What was that?" Eric whispered.

It sounded like something whimpering.

"Shh. It's happening again," Lana replied.

Both Lana and Eric realized what it was at the same time. Sighing, Eric pulled the blankets off of them and the two got up, and walked around the fire pit, careful not to disturb Ichabod. They came to Jack's side. He was crying softly by himself.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Eric asked, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Nothing," Jack answered, though it was obvious from the sound of his voice that he was upset.

Lana kneeled down on the ground next to him. "Something must be wrong if you're crying," She said softly.

Jack tried to curl up a bit more, though that was hard to do, considering how pregnant he was.

"It's stupid. I'm sorry I woke you. Don't worry about me."

Now it was Lana's turn to sigh. Truth be told she was very tired and wished that she and Eric could go to sleep, but they couldn't just leave Jack lying there crying all night.

"We can't go back to sleep until we know what's upsetting you," She said truthfully.

"I heard you talking," Jack said. "In the woods. A few minutes ago."

"Oh…"

"What'd you hear?" Eric asked.

"Just that I'm slowing you down, so is Ichabod. You could just leave me, you know. I know I'm a burden to you. I can't hold it against you if you leave me behind. Besides, we'd- I'd find a way to be safe."

"Jack, we are not going to leave you behind. This has been a stressful few days, for lack of better words," Eric said. "I've had to kill things. Things that were once people. But we won't just leave you. We've come this far. We'll take you out West with us, and you can have your baby and be happy there. Or maybe we'll find a way to send you back… Either way, while you're here, you won't be alone."

Tears continued to run down Jack's face, but he looked a little bit better having heard that.

"Are you sure, though? It's not fair to ask you both to risk your lives for me, or for my child."

"I don't think we could go the rest of our lives being okay with it if we left you behind," Lana replied.

Jack sniffed and nodded. "Alright. If you say so."

Lana smiled at him, and stood up. "I'll be right back."

The woman returned a minute later, holding a pile of tissues. "Here you go," She said, bending down to hand them to Jack. He'd stopped crying, at least.

"Thank you."

"Are you going to be able to sleep?" Eric asked, after Jack blew his nose a few times.

"The baby's kicking me now, so probably not for a while. It's fine, though," Jack said, pushing himself to sit up. "I'll just wait it out."

"Okay. Well, come get us if you need anything."

"Will do."

Eric and Lana walked back towards their blanket set up, and laid back down. Once again, the stars were out and shining brightly. The pair watched the sky until they fell asleep.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Part 8**

The group got up early and crossed over the border to Indiana by midday. Soon it was time to stop for gas again. Without Sully to back him up, Lana took the job of keeping watch as Eric filled up the car.

Ichabod was still acting a little bit funny, generally being very quiet, but he didn't seem as out of it as he had a day prior. Still, when they pulled up to the gas station, he outright refused to get out of the car, even though they'd been driving for hours. He seemed almost afraid to get out.

Jack, on the other hand, had been asking Lana to stop driving every hour it seemed. The

baby must've been kicking him hard or messing with him somehow, because he was either throwing up or having to pee for most of the morning. No one wanted to say anything, but he didn't look too good. He was very pale and had bags under his eyes and Lana got the idea that he hadn't slept much the night before, after they'd found him crying.

Once Eric had filled up the car, Lana took a minute to see if Jack needed anything.

"Is there anything I can get you that might make you feel better?" She asked, seeing as how Jack had run off to throw up for the fifth time a few minutes prior. "Crackers or something? There's a little convenience store right over there, I can go in…"

Ichabod overheard this and suddenly interrupted.

"NO. Do NOT go in there!" He said, though it sounded almost like he was begging.

"Ichabod, I'm not going to get infected, if that's what you're afraid of," Lana answered. "Besides, Jack is sick. I have to go get him food."

"Please don't go," Ichabod asked, more pitifully.

"Don't worry about it," Jack told her. "I'm fine. Really, love. I am. Let's just go."

Lana sighed and looked at Jack, then Ichabod. "Eventually, we'll have to go into a store sometime."

Ichabod didn't make eye contact with her and didn't answer.

"Whatever, just know that it's going to come up, so you'd better be ready to handle it," Lana said, walking away. Eric was getting back into the passenger seat, so Lana took her seat in front of the steering wheel.

As they pulled on to the freeway, Jack spoke up.

"How much longer are we going to be driving for?"

"Another four or five hours, and we'll be well into the state, and we can stop for the evening. Hopefully we can find another house to stay in. I know that lying on the ground all night probably didn't do you any favors," Eric answered.

"Not particularly. Not that I'm complaining."

"You just tell us if you need us to pull over, okay?" Lana asked.

"Mm-hmm," Jack replied. "I will."

Once again, Eric attempted to find a radio station, just for curiosity's sake. This time, he hit paydirt after switching around a few times.

"Oh, there's a broadcast," He said, making it louder.

As it'd been in the store, just days prior, the radio broadcast was broken up by static. However, they could make it out.

"If you can hear… Please head West, or South… Sioux Falls, South Dakota… another base is set up in Jacksonville, Florida…"

"Whoa," Lana said. "We're on course to hit Sioux Falls in another few days."

"This is great news!" Eric added. "If they have bases set up, we should be safe there!"

"Wonderful!" Jack agreed. "Think they'll have a time machine?"

"I don't know. Maybe they figured out how the aliens did it," Eric said. "But I'm not sure."

"Shh!" Lana interrupted them. "Listen!"

"…Cure is available on base, but those infected must be quarantined…"

"Wow…" Jack whispered.

No one dared say what they were thinking. No one except Ichabod.

"So Sully could've been cured, then."

"Ichabod, he would've-" Eric started, but Ichabod cut him off.

"You shot him when we could've taken him to South Dakota to have a cure."

"Come on. You know it wouldn't have been possible to take him with us," Eric replied, trying not to let his anger get to him.

"We could've found a way…"

That was the last straw for Eric.

"How exactly could we have done that, then? Tied him to the roof of the car? Dragged him along the back for two thousand miles, hoping that the force of it didn't tear his body apart? Or maybe we could've sat him next to you and hoped to God that he didn't infect you too! Please, please tell me your plan, oh smart one from the eighteenth century!"

Ichabod seemed very surprised at Eric's outburst, and it seemed to frighten him a bit.

"I didn't mean… I… I don't know. "

"I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut, then," Eric said.

Ichabod nodded slowly.

It was extremely quiet after that. However when Eric looked back, he could see that both Ichabod and Jack were crying silently in the back.

00

Around sunset, Lana pulled off the road to explore one of the smaller towns. She hoped to find a house for them to stay in for the evening. In the backseat of the car, Jack and Ichabod were asleep, lying somewhat on top of each other. She could hear Jack snoring loudly, but besides that the car was silent.

After driving a few miles, she came into what looked like a decent neighborhood. In better times, it was probably beautiful. Many of the houses had manicured lawns and white picket fences. Occasionally they'd pass the infected as they walked the streets. Their telltale limp gave it away. She ended up choosing a house after they'd not seen one of the zombies for a few blocks.

"I think we should stop here," She said, pulling into the driveway of the small tract home.

"Seems clear," Eric whispered back. "I haven't seen any of them in a while and since there's no cars…"

"Want to go wake up Jack and Ichabod?"

Eric and Lana glanced back, and could see that the two were still sound asleep. Jack's hand was resting on his belly, and he was leaning on Ichabod's shoulder.

"I feel kinda bad. They look peaceful."

"We can't leave them out here, though," Lana replied. "Ah, fuck it. I'll do it. Go see if there's a way to get inside."

"Sure."

Eric got out of the car, while Lana went to wake Ichabod and Jack up. Eric had been right, they did look really peaceful.

She gently rubbed Jack's arm. He cracked his eyes open, and looked at her. "Huh?" He asked, confused.

"You have to wake up. We found a place to stay for tonight."

Jack groaned, but sat up.

"Can you wake up Ichabod?" Lana asked.

Jack nodded, and jabbed Ichabod in the side. "Wake up."

Lana couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Nghh. What?" Ichabod asked as he woke up. "What happened?!"

"We're at a house to stay the evening."

"Oh… okay…"

Slowly, Jack and Ichabod got out of the car, and followed Lana up to the front door. Eric was already there, having gotten inside the house via a side window that was open.

"It's all clear," Eric reported. "Not even any blood on the walls!"

Ichabod cringed a little when he heard this, but followed everyone inside.

Overall, it was a nice set up. There was a nicely decorated, carpeted living room, a small dining room, two bedrooms, and a kitchen, not to mention that there were two bathrooms, too.

"I call the first shower!" Lana said, hurrying to one of the bathrooms.

"I call the second one!" Jack began walking towards the second bathroom.

This left Ichabod and Eric standing alone in the living room.

After an awkward silence, Eric spoke up.

"Um, sorry for yelling at you earlier."

Ichabod shrugged, but said nothing. He didn't particularly want to talk about this right then.

"Yeah… So, I'm going to go see if there's food in the kitchen."

"Alright."

Ichabod made himself comfortable on the sofa as Eric raided the kitchen. He managed to find some random foods in the pantry. By the time Jack and Lana were done with their showers, he'd prepared a small feast of microwaved popcorn, canned chicken soup, canned vegetables and frozen ravioli.

"Ooh, what's this?" Jack asked, taking a big bowl of popcorn.

"Buttered popcorn," Eric answered. "That's pasta and this is chicken soup." He pointed at the pot of soup he'd prepared on the stove.

"This is awesome!" Jack exclaimed, shoving handfuls of the snack into his mouth.

The other three took little bits of all of the different foods, and ate their dinner quietly. By the time they were done, all of it was gone.

"So… where are we sleeping tonight?" Eric asked.

"I think Jack should take one of the beds. He needs to rest." Lana said.

"Agreed," Eric replied. "And I guess, Ichabod can take the other room. We can sleep on the couches?"

"I'd prefer to sleep out here," Ichabod said. "On the sofa. You can have the bedroom."

"Wouldn't you feel safer in the bedroom? If we sleep out here, we can make sure that if anything gets in, we… you know. Get rid of it," Eric explained.

"No. It's alright. I'll be fine out here."

"Okay…" Lana and Eric agreed. They were not going to turn down the prospect of sleeping in an actual bed, not when they'd all been sleeping on the floor for so long.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Part 9**

All night, Jack tossed and turned. He was tired, but couldn't sleep. His lower stomach hurt. It felt like the cramps he'd had when he'd first been pregnant, but ten times worse. It took all of his strength to keep from crying out.

"It'll go away," He told himself, rubbing his stomach. "It'll stop soon…"

But it didn't stop. The hours passed slowly.

Finally by dawn, he felt slightly better, but not by much. He didn't want to slow the group down, though. They were only a little ways away from Sioux Falls.

Lana found some granola for breakfast, but Jack found that he couldn't eat it. He was in too much pain.

The woman seemed slightly concerned by this – Jack was usually very hungry, but she didn't push it. Maybe he was just having an off morning. That happened to everyone, occasionally.

They hit the road by nine, and Jack was already regretting every move he made. Each bump they hit caused him excruciating pain. Ichabod noticed him flinching soon into the trip.

"What's wrong with you?" Ichabod asked, looking Jack over. The pirate was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"N-nothing's wrong," Jack answered.

"Something's definitely wrong with you," Ichabod replied. "Oh my Lord. You're bleeding!"

"What?"

Eric turned around and looked at Jack.

"Oh my God," Eric said, shocked. "Lana, we need to pull over."

Jack looked down and saw that there was blood spreading on his pants, staining the seat as well.

"Where?" Lana asked.

"Anywhere there's shelter. I think… I think he might be in labor. Jack, are you in a lot of pain?"

Jack nodded. "Yes…"

"For how long?"

"Since last night."

Eric sighed, annoyed. "Fucking aye. You should've said something!"

Jack gasped, grabbing his stomach. "I'm not… due…yet," He said.

Eric shook his head. "Drive faster, Lana."

Lana hit the gas and the car flew down the highway.

"Looks like there's a farm up ahead," She said, seeing the building in the distance.

"Then pull in there," Eric instructed.

Lana drove a bit further up and pulled up on a grassy area near a barn.

"That'll work," Eric said. "We need to get him inside."

Together, Eric, Lana, and Jack managed to get Jack out of the car. He was crying again and his face was getting red and blotchy.

"Door's on the side," Lana said.

The group slowly helped Jack inside. The place was quiet, and filled with hay.

"We'll find a spot for him. Go get some blankets and water, alright?" Eric asked.

"Sure."

Before Lana could turn to leave, Eric grabbed her arm.

"Go get my knife, too," He whispered.

Lana nodded, and quickly began to walk towards the car.

When she got back into the barn, she closed the door behind her and handed Eric the items that he'd requested. In the short time that she'd been gone, they'd gotten Jack lying down, with his legs propped up on a couple bales of hay.

"That looks uncomfortable," Lana said.

"That's why we need some blankets."

Eric gently lifted Jack's legs and placed a blanket over the hay, so it wasn't pricking him so much.

Jack groaned as another wave of pain came over him.

Eric took off his watch and handed it to Ichabod. "I need to you time the contractions for me."

"How will I know when-"

"When he cries out, you'll know he's having a contraction."

"Alright…"

For the next few minutes, Jack just laid there, crying. Lana had given him some water, and Ichabod sat on the ground next to him, holding his hand in an attempt to comfort him.

"Start a fire outside. See if you can boil some water," Eric told Lana.

Lana took her lighter and some hay, and began working on that. She found a silver bucket in the corner of the barn and filled it up. Soon enough, she'd managed to position it so that it was over the fire.

Just as the water started boiling, another contraction hit.

"Please make it stop!" Jack begged, gripping Ichabod's hand even tighter.

"It'll stop soon," Ichabod told him. He wasn't really sure if this was true, but he felt that he should at least try to make Jack feel better. "Come on, Jack. Just stay strong…"

Eric cleared his throat. "I, uh, have to examine him."

Both Ichabod and Lana cast their gaze away as Eric knelt down and rolled up his sleeves. He lifted Jack's shirt, and began feeling his abdomen.

"Jack, I need to take your pants off. I need to see where the blood is coming from."

The thought of this made Jack cry even harder. Not only was he in horrible agony, but now he was going to have to be half naked in front of the others.

"Please don't," Jack begged, looking up at Eric with pleading eyes.

"I know its embarrassing, but I need to look. You could be bleeding internally and I need to see…"

Eric really did feel bad for him.

"I... You know I'm a medical technician, right? I see pregnant people all the time. It's

nothing new."

Jack sniffled, but nodded. "Fine."

With skilled ease, Eric began unbuttoning Jack's pants and sliding them off of his legs. Instantly, he could see that the man's inner thighs were covered with blood, and it was dripping down towards his feet. Discarding the pants, Eric rested a hand on Jack's leg.

"I'm going to look at you. I have to move you a bit. It might hurt a little."

Jack simply closed his eyes, not wanting to see what Eric was doing. A second later, he could feel Eric shifting him around and poking at him.

"I have to get the baby out," Eric announced, after a moment.

"Won't it come out on its own?!" Jack asked, nervously.

Ichabod looked at Eric, expecting an answer as well.

"No. Nowadays, they help pregnant men along. With hormones and such, they make it easier for men to give birth naturally. But they didn't give you that. They didn't have it in your time. The only way to get the baby out is to do a c-section."

"You're going to cut him open?!" Ichabod asked, horrified.

"There's no choice. If I don't do it, both Jack and his baby will die."

"Do it," Jack said, feeling another contraction. "Please, just do it. Save her over me."

"I'll make sure you're both okay," Eric said, confidently. "It's just… We don't have anesthetic."

"I can take it…"

Eric shook his head. "I hope so. Alright… Lana, wash this in the boiling water," He held up his knife. "And get a blanket ready."

Lana did as she was told, bringing both the water and the knife back over to Eric.

"Jack, close your eyes again," He instructed.

Jack closed his eyes and gripped Ichabod's hand as hard as possible.

Eric lowered Jack's legs a bit, taking one of the bales of hay away. Now he could begin the operation.

He held his breath as he made the first cut, trying to ignore the screams coming from Jack. The pirate was sweating, crying, and yelling all at once.

"Doing good, Jack," Eric said, though he doubted that Jack heard him over his own yelling.

Making as few cuts as possible, Eric soon located the baby. It seemed pretty well developed.

"I'm going to take the baby out now," He said.

Jack was now panting and shaking. Ichabod held onto Jack's hand with both of his own, trying to calm him down.

"Come on, Jack. Be strong. You're doing fine."

"Here we go…" Eric said.

A minute later, he held the baby in his hands. He quickly handed it to Lana, who wrapped it in the blanket. The infant was screaming. Jack looked up at it for a second.

"It's a girl," Eric announced. "You were right."

"I was?" Jack asked weakly. "That's great."

With that, he passed out.

00

The next thing Jack remembered was waking up with a pain in his lower stomach. He tried to move to see what it was, but someone pushed him back.

"You can't move yet. Eric only just stitched you up an few hours ago."

It was Ichabod.

"It hurts..." Jack whispered, eyes tearing up again.

It was obvious that Ichabod felt pity for Jack. Jack could see it on his face.

"I know, Jack. I'm sorry it hurts. Here, you can hold my hand." He offered his hand to the pirate, and Jack took hold of it, holding on to the constable tightly.

"Where's the baby?" Jack asked, after a few moments of trying to get his breathing and heart rate under control. He was doing his best not to think about the horrible pain he was feeling.

"She's... Lana has her," Ichabod answered. "You need to rest for now."

"I can't sleep with this pain..."

Ichabod nodded, and pulled a small vial out of his pocket. "Lana found these in the main house. She said to give you two of them if you were in too much pain. Here," He opened the vial and took out two pills. "You need to swallow these with water."

"What are they?"

"Morphine tablets. They'll make the pain stop." Ichabod offered Jack the medication and opened a water bottle that was nearby.

Jack took a deep breath and accepted the pills, swallowing them down quickly.

"They'll take effect in a few minutes," Ichabod told him. "You just need to hold on until then."

Sure enough, soon Jack was feeling much better, but he was growing tired. His eyes seemed glazed over and he barely acknowledged Ichabod when he spoke to him.

"Doing better now?" Ichabod asked.

"Mm-hm… Wanna sleep," Jack slurred, closing his eyes halfway.

"Go to sleep, then." Ichabod took one of the blankets that was nearby, and covered Jack with it.

"You'renotgonnaleavemeareyou?" Jack asked.

It took Ichabod a second to understand what he was saying, considering how slurred the words were, but eventually he got it.

"We're not going to leave you here. Don't worry. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Thanksh. You're a good person."

Jack closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

00

As Jack slept, Lana and Eric were busy in the main house with the little baby girl. Being a month premature, she was very small and seemed to be having some difficulties breathing. Her heard had actually stopped at one point, but Eric had managed to revive her, using child CPR. At the moment, she was awake, but barely moving. Lana had wrapped her in a blanket to keep her warm, but both she and Eric knew that the little one's time was probably limited.

"I'd be surprised if she survives the evening," Eric said, looking the baby over. Her skin was very pale and she didn't cry at all. "She's not getting enough oxygen."

"Jack's going to be devastated," Lana replied, frowning. "There's nothing you can do?"

"No. There's no hospitals around for miles...I checked the map we found in the living room. And even if we could find one, they probably don't have power or are overrun with zombies. I think... I think it might be best just to let nature take its course."

"I think we should let Jack hold her, then."

"I thought you gave him the morphine pills?"

"I gave them to Ichabod to give to Jack. Whoever lived here must've had cancer or something, because there's a ton of drugs in the bathroom medicine cabinet."

The couple had searched the house previously, and found nobody. It seemed to be entirely abandoned.

"That's another thing," Eric said. "There's no guarantee that Jack will survive, either. I cleaned his wound, and stitched it, but it's not surgical thread, and it's possible that he will be too weak to carry on. If he were in a hospital, we'd have given him a transfusion by now."

"Jack's a strong guy. I think he can make it," Lana said.

"All we can do is pray for a miracle, keep his wounds clean, and try to keep him relaxed." Eric glanced down at the baby again, hearing her gasp for air. "And I think we need to bring her over now. Wake him up. There's not much time.

00

Lana and Eric found Jack still asleep in the barn, with Ichabod still holding his hand. The pirate was breathing softly, and looked very peaceful.

Ichabod looked up when he heard the footsteps.

"Is she... Is she gone?" He asked, softly. He was aware of the problems that the baby faced, but had kept it from Jack, not sure that it was really his place to tell him the bad news.

"No... But she's going," Eric said sadly. "We came to let Jack hold her for a little bit. We need to wake him up."

"He just fell asleep a few minutes ago."

"This is important." Lana said.

Ichabod nodded and gently rubbed Jack's arm, trying to wake him.

Jack slowly cracked his eyes open.

"Mmm..." He sighed, still half asleep. "What's goin' on?"

Eric knelt down next to Jack. "Jack, buddy, you need to wake up."

"M'awake," Jack mumbled, opening his eyes fully. Everything was still hazy and fuzzy, but he tried his best to appear awake. "What's wrong?"

"Jack... Your little girl... She's had some complications. She probably... She likely won't live through the evening. We wanted to let you hold her before..." Eric trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

All of the color drained from Jack's face.

"What do'ya mean?! What's wrong with her?!"

"She's not getting enough oxygen to her brain. Her organs are shutting down," Eric explained.

"Well then bloody fix her!" Jack yelled. He tried to push himself up, but the pain was too great. "You're the doctor, aren't you? Fix her! Make her better!" Tears were starting to well up in Jack's eyes again. "Oh, God, you can't let her go. Don't let her go. Please."

Eric felt horrible, seeing and hearing this. Jack was truly desperate.

"I can't help her..." Eric whispered. "Maybe you should hold her."

Jack held his arms out, and Lana gently handed him the baby. The infant barely moved.

"Oh God. She's so tiny. Why's she so tiny?! She's so pale..." Jack was mumbling, crying as he looked down at the baby. "Oh God. Please, please, please..."

He held the baby close to his chest, trying to keep her warm.

"Please don't go. Please... Angela, you can't go."

No one said anything, not wanting to interrupt Jack's last minutes with his daughter.

Eventually the baby stopped moving entirely. Jack still held her, though, gently stroking her little tuft of dark hair. Her eyes were closed. It was clear that she was gone, now, but Jack didn't want to let her go.

"Angela... My sweet angel..." He sobbed, kissing her on the head. "I love you... Daddy loves you..."

Later that night, after Jack had finally let go and had cried himself to sleep, Eric dug a small hole near the edge of the woods. The baby was wrapped in a blanket when he buried her. He spent the next few hours scratching out a tombstone on a flat rock he'd found. It read simply, "Here lies Angela Sparrow, Beloved Daughter".


	10. Chapter Ten

**Part 10**

After his daughter died, Jack's condition seemed to get worse. The first day after, he wouldn't speak, eat, or move from the position he was in, lying on his side. He slept a lot, but frequently woke up crying. The only thing that Lana had succeeded in was getting him to drink a little water, but besides that, he was too distraught to do anything.

The second day, the group decided it was best to leave. It was obvious that it was too hard for Jack to remain in the same area where he'd given birth and lost his child, so they'd carried him to the car and laid him out in the back seat, but not before Eric had checked his wound over.

It was a little red now, which had Eric concerned. They'd found some rubbing alcohol in the main house, and he'd applied that to clean it, but it was really just a matter of whether or not Jack's body could fight an infection.

So, Jack laid in the backseat as Eric drove. He was curled up and he rested his head on Ichabod's lap. For his part, Ichabod allowed this and calmly stroked Jack's hair, trying to comfort him. It seemed to work, because around lunch time Ichabod was able to get him to eat a little, even though it was only a few pieces of the chocolate that Lana had brought along.

Ichabod was not usually very good at making people feel better, but it seemed instinctive to him to hold Jack a little closer whenever the man would start crying. The constable didn't know exactly what to say, so he would just make soothing sounds until Jack either stopped or fell asleep.

By sunset, they'd almost reached the Western border of Illinois. This meant that they only had to get through Iowa, since Sioux Falls was on the Eastern edge of South Dakota. Eric hoped they'd make it in another day and a half or so.

With Jack being as sick as he was, they decided to try to find shelter once again, rather than spending the night camping out somewhere. Eric pulled into a town called Moline. It was of fairly decent size, and there seemed to be a lot of people – or what looked like people – walking the streets. In fact, almost every house looked to be inhabited as well.

"I guess they didn't get this town." Lana said as they passed the twentieth occupied home.

"Who's to say that they aren't zombies inside?" Eric answered.

The two stopped talking when they heard Jack groan in the back seat.

"You okay, Jack?" Lana asked.

"I think he has a fever," Ichabod replied, resting his hand on Jack's arm. "He feels very warm."

"That means the infection's getting worse. We need to find a place to stop soon," Eric said, turning on to yet another street.

"What about there?" Lana pointed at a brick building that sign in front. It read "Moline Medical Center" and all of the lights looked to be off. "They'll probably have some supplies."

"Works for me," Eric said, pulling into the lot.

Once he parked the car, Eric, Lana, and Ichabod all got out. Jack didn't like the idea of his human pillow leaving him alone, so Ichabod was only able to really join the couple once he'd promised Jack numerous times that he'd be back very shortly.

The door to the building was locked, but loose. It only took Eric three shoves with his shoulder to break it open.

"Go get Jack," He ordered Ichabod. "Bring him in. I'm going to see what they have here."

As it had appeared on the outside, the building was, in fact, completely deserted. The electricity still worked, though, and Eric quickly found an empty examination room with a bed that Jack could be laid out on.

Ichabod came into the building a few minutes later, Jack leaning on him heavily. It seemed like the pirate could barely walk. Lana quickly came to their aid and helped Jack into the room that Eric was setting up.

The exam table was a few feet high, and Lana and Ichabod had to help him on to it. He cried out as they lifted him up, and almost seemed like he was going to cry again.

Meanwhile, Eric was starting to set up. He found a set of rubber gloves and had located a few syringes and vials of saline.

"Okay, Jack. I'm going to need to look at your wound," He said.

Jack cringed. "It's going to hurt."

"It's going to hurt worse if the infection gets worse. Actually... we can make this easy. Ichabod, do you still have those morphine tablets?"

"Should we really be doping him up like this all the time?" Lana asked. Ichabod had been giving Jack the pills every few hours if the pain got too bad, but it seemed to be occurring more and more frequently.

"He's going to be REALLY uncomfortable if I have to open his stitches," Eric answered.

Lana sighed, and watched as Ichabod took out two pills and placed them in Jack's mouth.

"Do we have water?" He asked.

Eric filled a small paper cup with water and handed it over. Ichabod held it to Jack's lips to help him drink.

"Alright, we'll wait a few minutes, then," Eric said.

Ten minutes later Jack was feeling a lot better, and he was much calmer. Eric was now ready to begin looking him over.

"I need to lift up your shirt and pull down your pants a little," Eric told him, just to give him a heads up.

Rather than arguing, Jack simply looked around the room, and reached out, wanting someone to hold his hand.

This time Lana stepped up to do it.

"It won't be too bad," She said softly, trying to reassure him.

"Okay..."

Eric soon got a clear view of the wound. It was dark red now, and there seemed to be pus coming out of some of the stitches.

"Crap," He said to himself.

"It's bad?" Ichabod asked. He was standing in the corner of the room, watching.

"He's got a bad infection. I need to open the stitches up and clean him out inside. Also..." He found a piece of paper and a marker, and began writing something down. "I saw a pharmacy down the hall. Go get me this medication," He instructed Ichabod. "It should be in the location marked antibiotics."

"Clarithromycin..." Ichabod read off. "Alright. How much of it?"

"Get twenty pills or so. It'll help Jack fight the infection. If it's not there, then grab whatever bottles of antibiotics you can find. And here," Eric pulled his gun out of his waistband. "There should be two shots left, in case... Well, you know. Aim for the head."

Ichabod swallowed nervously, but took the gun.

"I'll be right back."

Eric nodded, and began putting on a different pair of gloves. It was very important that no outside bacteria got into Jack's wound.

"Jack, you're going to feel some pressure on the wound. You can squeeze Lana's hand if it gets to be too bad, okay?"

Jack shook his head. "Wait."

"We have to start now-"

"No. I don't feel so good..."

With that, Jack leaned over and threw up. Lana took a step back and narrowly avoided being covered in vomit.

"Shit." She found a small trash can in the corner of the room, and brought it over. Jack seemed to be throwing up mainly bile, as he'd not been eating much.

"It's because of the infection," Eric said, watching as Lana rubbed Jack's back and pulled his hair away from his face.

After a couple minutes, Jack finally seemed to be done. He turned to lie on his back and began panting.

"It hurts..." He whimpered.

Lana moved the trashcan back and took Jack's hand. "I know it hurts. It's going to be okay soon."

Jack groaned and cringed. The pain was obvious when one looked into his eyes, besides the fact that he was extremely pale and sweating.

Eric was finally able to start his procedure. Carefully, he removed Jack's stitches, wincing as pus and blood poured out from the rancid-smelling area. The flesh around it was clearly near the beginning stages of dying.

"Ugh. I think we caught it just in time." He began clearing the area using saline.

Ichabod walked back into the room as the disgusting mixture began pouring on to the floor, leaving a bloody, yellowish stain.

"Oh, God," He said, covering his nose and mouth. "What is that?"

"Blood and pus," Eric said. "But it's almost gone now. Now the main thing is disinfecting the area... Hand me that bandage?" He nodded at a large bandage.

"You aren't going to stitch him?" Lana asked.

"I'm going to let the wound air out for a bit, then I'll stitch him later. And he's going to start taking antibiotics. Did you get those, Ichabod?"

"I got four different kinds," Ichabod said.

"Good."

Once Jack was bandaged up, Eric took his gloves off and began rooting through the bottles of medication that Ichabod had brought, choosing the strongest drug there was.

"Lana, do we have any food in the car? He has to eat something small before I can give him the medicine."

Lana looked up. Until then her attention had been focused on Jack, and holding his hand and trying to keep him calm.

"We have a little bit left."

"Go get it?"

She began to pull away from Jack but he gripped her tightly. "Angelica, please don't go..." He moaned.

"I'm not Angelica, Jack. I'm Lana."

Jack didn't seem to register what she'd said. Again, he repeated his request.

"Please. I'm sorry about Angela... It wasn't my fault. I don't want to be alone."

Lana frowned, unsure of what to do. Thankfully Ichabod spoke up.

"Just tell me where the keys are and I'll get it," He offered.

It took a bit of coercing to get Jack to eat anything. Eventually she'd managed to guilt Jack into eating a piece of stale bread, which was really all they had left at this point. Jack was still thinking that she was Angelica, and had finally given up and allowed her to feed him after she told him that she couldn't deal with losing him too.

Just the mere effort of chewing and swallowing seemed to tire Jack out. After Eric had given him his medication, he fell asleep almost instantly.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Part 11**

By some miracle, Jack seemed much better once the morning came. He'd tossed and turned all night, but now he felt great. In fact, he'd been the one to wake up Lana and Eric. They, along with Ichabod, had stayed in the room all night, not feeling comfortable leaving Jack alone.

"Lana," Jack said, poking her in the arm. "Wake up, Lana."

Lana opened her eyes. "Jack? You look a lot better!"

Indeed, Jack did not look as pale as he had the night prior, and there seemed to be some brightness in his eyes again.

"I feel a lot better! I'm just a little hungry. And I have some business I need to attend to."

"Oh. OH," Lana said, realizing what he meant. "Um, I think Eric would be better off helping you. Eric!"

"What?!" Eric asked, jumping awake. "What happened? Are they here?!"

"No, calm down. Jack needs to use the bathroom. Can you take him?"

"Oh... Yeah."

Eric pushed himself up. He'd fallen asleep sitting with his back against a wall, and now his body felt stiff. He stretched for a second before coming to Jack's side.

"Come on," He said, helping Jack up. He was very careful to help carry most of Jack's weight. Even if he looked better, he still wasn't sure how strong the man was.

"There's a bathroom across the hall," He said, wrapping an arm around Jack's waist. When they arrived, he led Jack inside.

"Think you can do this by yourself?" Eric asked, not particularly wanting to be present.

"I'd prefer it," Jack replied, blushing a little.

Eric nodded. "I'll be outside."

A few moments later, Jack hobbled out, nearly collapsing when he got through the door. Eric caught him just in time, before he hit the ground.

"I don't understand..." Jack said, nervously, "I was feeling fine..."

Eric wrapped an arm around Jack's waist, helping to support him. It was only then that he noticed how much lighter Jack was, now. Giving birth and a few days of being deathly ill had caused him to lose quite a bit of weight.

"You're still weak. You need to rest another day. We'll stay here and start off again tomorrow."

Jack sighed, but said nothing, concentrating on keeping his balance as he and Eric walked back into the exam room they'd been in previously. When they came back, Eric helped him back onto the bed.

"I found some clean scrubs," Lana said once they were settled in. "Maybe he should change his clothes?"

"I'm right here, ya know," Jack said, annoyed that Lana was talking about him as if he were some piece of furniture.

"Sorry. I just wanted Eric's opinion. I don't think you should keep the same clothes on, not if the wound needs to be kept clean."

"She's right," Eric agreed. "I'll stitch you today, and then we'll help you get dressed."

Jack paled a little at the thought of having to once again get stitches.

"There's no way to avoid that? The stitches?" He asked.

"Well.. if I can get a surgical stapler, I can staple it shut," Eric said seriously.

Jack's eyes got wide. "Staple it?"

"Yes."

Even Ichabod was starting to look horrified.

"Don't you faint!" Eric said to him, watching as Ichabod gripped one of the counters. He then turned back to Jack. "We can give you painkillers. You won't feel it."

"Great, more medicine," Jack frowned.

Lana patted his arm. "It's alright. You're almost done."

"I know. Do what you have to do." Jack's stomach began to growl, interrupting his statement. "But first, can we have some food?"

00

"Hmm... Looks like there's some chips, cookies, pretzels, and crackers," Lana said as she and Ichabod reviewed the vending machine. Eric had noticed it in what was likely the employee break room. "Got a preference?"

Ichabod shrugged. "Not really."

Lana nodded and began to position herself behind the machine. "Back up. I'm gonna push it over." She pulled the plug out of the wall.

"Couldn't we just put money in?"

"We'll get more this way, and this shit's just going to go bad anyway. Plus we don't have any money."

Ichabod didn't seem too thrilled with the thought of taking the food, but he saw Lana's point. It was just going to go to waste, and besides that, it was important that they got Jack something to eat to keep his strength up. He took a few steps back.

With a loud crash, the vending machine fell to the floor on its side. The force of it knocked several packets of chips and cookies out of their holders.

"There we go," Lana said, bending down to pick it all up. She tossed two packs of chips to Ichabod. "Happy breakfast."

After gathering as many packets of food as they could carry, the two started on their way back to the room.

"I'm surprised there's none of them in here," Ichabod said as they walked.

"Knock on wood! We're lucky. Don't push it."

"I don't believe in superstitions," Ichabod replied.

"I do."

The two walked in silence the rest of the way.

00

"We have food!" Lana announced when they walked into the room.

Jack held his hands out as Lana came closer to him.

"Here," She said, opening a package of pretzels. "Start with this."

Jack looked it over, shrugged, and began popping them in his mouth. He finished it in record time and looked at Lana, wanting to get more.

"You can have some Oreos," She said, opening the small packet. "But after that you have to take your meds and wait or you're going to get sick."

"I'm not a child," Jack replied. He took the cookies anyway.

Lana ignored him. Instead, she began taking out his pills. As soon as he was finished eating, she offered them to him.

Grudgingly, Jack took the pills, swallowing them with some water that Eric had given him.

There wasn't much to do that day, so a few hours after breakfast, Eric began prepping Jack for the procedure. Ichabod watched as Lana held Jack's hand, while Eric applied alcohol to clean the area he was about to stitch.

"I don't think I can watch this," Ichabod said, feeling sick at the sight of the cut.

"Well, there's other rooms you can go in. Or you can look at the wall," Eric suggested.

Not wanting to have to go back out of the room by himself, Ichabod turned to stare at the wall, hoping the procedure wouldn't take too long.

"Alright," Eric said. "Time for painkillers."

Jack didn't seem too thrilled with it but he took the meds, knowing that he likely would be unable to stand the pain of what was about to happen.

Slowly, Jack began to zone out, as he usually did when given medication.

"You there?" Lana asked, waving a hand in front of Jack's face. He seemed very dazed.

"I think so…" He trailed off, staring at nothing in particular.

"Good. I think he's ready to go," Lana said to Eric.

Eric nodded and began putting a set of gloves on.

"Alright. Going to clean it again, then stitch it."

Despite being completely out of it, Jack still held tightly to Lana's hand, whimpering as he felt the needle go in and out of his skin. Even though it didn't hurt, just knowing what as happening bothered him.

Thankfully, Eric finished the job quickly. He cleaned the area once again, and began to help Jack into the new set of scrubs that Lana had provided. He was surprised when Jack began to squirm during this.

"Can you hold still?" Eric asked, frustrated. "Wait, why are you crying?"

Jack didn't answer. He refused to look Eric in the eyes, though.

Lana caught on pretty quickly however.

"Do you not want Eric to help you get your new clothes on?" She asked.

Jack sniffed, and nodded 'yes' slowly.

"He's already seen you, when you… Well, you know. But that was different, I guess. You were in a lot more pain." The woman thought for a second. "Would you prefer that I do it?"

Jack sighed. "I'd prefer if neither of you did it, but since that's not a possibility, then I guess you can."

"Okay." Lana motioned for Eric to get out of the way. She opened the package containing the scrubs, and took the shirt out, then laid it over Jack's upper legs.

"Here, now I can't see anything," She said. The effort seemed to make Jack a little bit more comfortable.

Slowly and carefully, she managed to get the pants up his legs, only moving the shirt when she had to. It took her a few minutes, but she finished, having barely had to look at Jack at all.

"There you go," She said, forcing a smile at him.

Now that this part was done, Jack seemed a little calmer.

"Thanks…" He whispered, wiping his cheeks. "Sorry for that."

"It's okay. You've been through a lot lately."

Jack nodded in agreement.

The group stood in silence as Eric continued to clean up. Realizing that Ichabod was still turned around, Lana finally spoke up.

"You can turn back, now. It's all done."

Ichabod turned, and Lana could immediately see that he was pale. Probably bothered by having to hear Jack cry.

"Are you okay?" Lana asked.

"Yes."

"Good."

The remainder of the day was spent looking for more food, raiding the pharmacy, and for Jack, resting.


	12. Chapter Twelve (Final)

**Final reminder that reviews make me happy. Especially nice reviews. Because I'm a nice person so it would be great if you could be nice to me too :- )**

**Also, go read Phish Tacko's stuff. She beta'd this.**

**Part 12**

The group set out to drive early the next morning. Jack was still feeling pretty good, so Eric determined that it was safe for him to travel. Ichabod, Lana, and Eric packed up the car and helped Jack out.

"We should be in South Dakota by late tonight."

As they drove, Eric began to play with the radio once again. This time, the broadcasts seemed to come in much stronger. A woman's voice could clearly be heard.

"An army/national guard base has been established in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and another in Jacksonville, Florida. If you can hear these broadcasts, please relocate to one of these areas. We have supplies. Those infected will be quarantined. All who enter will be subject to a physical exam."

The announcement repeated itself over and over, and the group listened to it a few times before turning the radio off.

"Well, that's a good sign," Ichabod said.

"Yes. I just hope it's not some trick," Eric replied.

"Do you think the aliens would be smart enough to do that?" Ichabod asked nervously.

"I don't know. They were smart enough to travel time and camouflage themselves as humans."

Ichabod nodded. He could feel Jack cringing a little bit next to him. Obviously Eric's statement had rattled him a bit too.

"I don't know if I can take it if it's fake," Jack whispered.

"I've got a couple shots left if we need them," Eric said.

"Yes, but… Where we will go, then?"

"I don't know."

Jack sighed, but didn't reply. Instead, he turned to look out the window, staring at the trees and sights as they drove.

00

It was around sunset when Lana finally spotted it – a sign welcoming them to Sioux Falls, and a large American flag waving in the breeze a few blocks away.

"That must be it," She said.

Despite the fact that they were in a car and protected by a ton of metal, everyone braced themselves, not knowing what to expect.

Slowly, Lana drove up to the base. A man in army fatigues walked out from what looked like a makeshift guard booth. Taking a deep breath, Eric quietly passed her the gun. Lana opened the window as the man approached. Once he was close enough, Lana looked into his eyes. She sighed in relief, noticing that they were a bright, shining blue.

**End**


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